Inspiration & insights along the path toward happiness & wisdom

Learning to Walk Again

Walking Meditation is still pretty new to me and took some getting used to. I’m finally getting past the wobbly beginner’s stage. Yes, when you walk extremely slowly and mindfully, it’s hard to keep your balance at first, lol. In walking meditation you let your steps be the focus of your awareness rather than your breath when you walk.

A couple days ago while practicing I was struggling to get my awareness out of my head and into my feet. For a moment I thought, “I’ll never be able to walk across the room without being distracted. This is impossible!” Then it occurred to me that I only have to take this step mindfully, not the next twenty. Then I take the next step mindfully and the next…

We can’t take the next 20 breaths mindfully, but we can take this one mindfully. We don’t have next week or even today. All we ever have is now. We don’t even have the past. It’s gone, but we can choose to be here now. To be present. To be mindful. To be awake in this moment.